[68564]

My overly hyper 9 year old son has slowly developed a love for reading. Right now he is working through a series  that a friend at church lent us for him. It is called "Warriors" by Erin Hunter. I am thinking of getting a Kindle for him to make it easier for him to read in bed. Of course that would mean either the Kindle Paper white, or get him a light for it. I do not want to get him the Kindle Fire because I do not want him playing games. Right now our agreement is he can read until he falls asleep, which was a compromise since we were constantly fighting with him over playing in his room instead of sleeping at night. My ulterior motive of developing a love for reading in him seems to be working too.

If we got him one of the E-Ink Kindles I am assuming there is not much in the way of games on them? Is an e-ink Kindle a good idea, or should we stick with paper backs for now? Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[luvmy4brats]

I would either get him the paperwhite or the "baby" Kindle ($69) & a light. (My kids have the $69 ones and are very happy with them).. I haven't downloaded any games on theirs.

Also many libraries have the Kindle versions of the Warriors series... So check your library before you start buying them

 

[Steven Stickler]

E-ink kindles are great for kids. My son has had one since he was 10 (and had we bought it when he was 9 his parents would not have developed a love-hate relationship with Ikea bookshelves. Don't get me started on those Allen wrenches...).

The built-in dictionary is a really neat feature for kids who read above grade level.

I think you are wise to avoid the Fire.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[Muddypawz]

Getting him a Kindle is a terrific idea! 

 

[68564]

I would either get him the paperwhite or the "baby" Kindle ($69) & a light. (My kids have the $69 ones and are very happy with them).. I haven't downloaded any games on theirs.

Also many libraries have the Kindle versions of the Warriors series... So check your library before you start buying them

That is a good idea. Our local Library uses OverDrive so I guess there is a good chance they would have it. Site appears down right now so can not check.

How bad are the ads on the $69 one? I do not know if i trust him not to click them.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

If you want to encourage the reading without offering him distractions, the eInk device is the way to go.  I'm with Heather -- either the basic $69 kindle or the Paperwhite.  You can get a decent cover for either one to protect it; you can get a cover with a built in light for the $69 model.

With the Fire, he WILL have access to apps, the web, etc. though the newer models come with Kindle Free Time which you can set up to limit what he's allowed to do with the thing and when.

As to ads, I'd say you have nothing to worry about there.  You don't actually BUY anything from the Kindle, basically just get an email with further details.  If the device is registered such that YOUR email address is the one on record, you'll know if he's clicking them because you'll see the emails saying, 'thanks for asking for information'.  None of the images are at all questionable or inappropriate and they only show up as sleep pictures, really, so not intrusive at all.  That said, if you'd rather not deal with it, get the one with out ads OR try the one with ads and buy out of them later if you feel the need.

 

[Linjeakel]

That is a good idea. Our local Library uses OverDrive so I guess there is a good chance they would have it. Site appears down right now so can not check.

How bad are the ads on the $69 one? I do not know if i trust him not to click them.

If you're worried about the ads, you could always get the one without - at $89 it's still $30 cheaper then the cheapest paperwhite. The cost effectiveness would depend on how much you were going to spend on a light.

As for the ads, I'm not sure, but I think when you click on them, you don't buy anything there and then, but get an email and a link? Since you would presumably have it registered with your email so you can keep an eye on what books he downloads, you would be the one getting the emails.

On that subject, we usually recommend where you're buying a Kindle for a child, is that you set up their own separate account at Amazon, fund it with gift vouchers rather than a credit card so you can limit the amount spent, and use your own email so everytime a book is purchased, you get the emailed receipt. Tell your son the budget - how much and how often you will replenish the gift vouchers - tell him he can't download anything inappropriate without you knowing about it - and then let him be responsible.

By doing it this way, when he's grown up, you can hand over the account details to him and he will still have access to all the books he already has, rather than having them all on your account.

 

[history_lover]

On that subject, we usually recommend where you're buying a Kindle for a child, is that you set up their own separate account at Amazon, fund it with gift vouchers rather than a credit card so you can limit the amount spent, and use your own email so everytime a book is purchased, you get the emailed receipt. Tell your son the budget - how much and how often you will replenish the gift vouchers - tell him he can't download anything inappropriate without you knowing about it - and then let him be responsible.

By doing it this way, when he's grown up, you can hand over the account details to him and he will still have access to all the books he already has, rather than having them all on your account.

Once he is old enough to have his own account, what are the chances he will still want access to his kiddy books anyway though? The Paperwhite and "baby" Kindles have parental controls on them - it password protects access to the web, Kindle store, and cloud so the parents can control what gets bought or downloaded. With this, I don't think there is a need to do the whole separate account with gift vouchers thing anymore unless you actually want to start teaching your child some spending responsibility. For example, if he used up his monthly allowance within a week and wanted more credit, it would teach him not to spend his allowance all at once when he has to wait a month for more. So with the gift vouchers, you can still control how much gets spent and setting it up with an email address you have access to would also allow you to monitor what he's buying - but he does have some freedom to buy what he wants without having go to you every time and ask you to put the password in and buy it for him. But if that's not something you're interested in, the parental controls would give you control without having to set up a separate account and deal with regularly buying and applying gift cards.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

I think whether you have a separate account for your kid or make his/her kindle one of several on your account really depends on circumstances.

I can imagine, however, my son still wanting access to his 'kiddy books'.  Maybe for his own kids some day.  He certainly hasn't let me get rid of any of the paper ones we have!  If there'd been kindles when he was young I think I'd have set up his own account.

OTOH, if you have several kids -- I just have the one who's all grown up now -- you might want a separate 'kids account' that they can all share where you keep books appropriate for them separate from books you read.

Either way, with a young child, I would recommend funding with gift certificates -- if only to avoid a lot of small charges on the CC   -- and I'd be sure to explain the rules and the budget, and monitor all usage.  Same as you would do with any technology gadget.

 

[Hadou]

It's a great idea. 

 

[68564]

He has access to a store on his 3D DSI, and there we use "points" so that he can buy games. Those points are something Nintendo sells that you buy with real money. So as he does chores and earns money he can buy points to spend. I guess that means we have started down that path already. Maybe the $69 one is the best bet. If I read the advertisement correctly it sounds like you can later pay $20 and remove the ads? Want to stay as cheap as we can because he is a 9yr old red head. Right now he reads paper backs in bed so he already deals with the need for a light quite well.

Thanks!

 

[luvmykindle3]

The basic kindle might be better. The fire would definitely be a distraction.

 

[MDB]

I think it's a great idea. I am planning to buy my niece a Kindle for her 7th birthday in June since she constantly says her favorite subject in 1st grade is reading. Her mom thinks it's a good idea as well. At this point my only debate is whether to get the $69 Kindle or the PW. I'm leaning towards the former since I don't think she'll be doing much reading in low light.

 

[68564]

Yeah, this thread has me leaning really strongly towards the $69 one. My wife and I have Nook Colors (Predates PW and Fire, and low light reading was important to us), but at some point we will move over to Kindle since we also have Prime already. My son may end up being the lucky test case.  

 

[MDB]

Yeah, this thread has me leaning really strongly towards the $69 one. My wife and I have Nook Colors (Predates PW and Fire, and low light reading was important to us), but at some point we will move over to Kindle since we also have Prime already. My son may end up being the lucky test case.

Hmmm...that's get me thinking. If my niece really takes to reading on a Kindle, I can always upgrade her later with my PW as a hand-me-down (of course only when Amazon comes out with another "latest and greatest"). I think her main reading focus, at this point, is more on learning words and not so much for reading pleasure at night so I'm not too worried about a light right now. I'll have to keep an eye on her progress...I was blown away at some of the words she could read in kindergarten. My love of reading was started very early on by my mother, and I want to foster that passion in my niece. For some reason her mom's (my sister) love of reading doesn't go beyond reading text messages. I'm trying to overcome that!

 

[TerryS]

I would have to agree on the basic kindle to avoid the other distractions owning a tablet is sure to provide.

 

[Cyanide5000]

They are a brilliant choice! they are robust too, so they should survive a good bashing and plenty of drops too!